Sunbury Beat

By Inspector Maxine Cilia By Inspector Maxine Cilia By Inspector Maxine Cilia There is a lot There is ongoing work with our local There is a lot There is a lot going on in There is ongoing work with our local There is ongoing work with our local partners including Housing Council and going on in Spelthorne at the moment . The most reports that we receive are about anti social behaviour. Most people do not even see this as a crime. However, continued anti social behaviour can create many tensions in communities and make people desperate to move homes, unable to live their daily lives as well as anxious and mentally unwell. It is important that you report to us continued anti-social behaviour. This will ensure we have a good picture of where to target our patrols with our PCSO’s. Currently we are seeing a lot of antisocial behaviour in the Walled Garden where youths are congregating and creating a disturbance and abusing Council Colleagues when they are trying to lock up the gardens. If we receive reports from our council workers about public order offences or assaults we will ensure these are investigated and persons are brought to justice. It is not acceptable to abuse the staff in these areas. If you are in a Housing association property in the local area and are experiencing anti-social behaviour you should report this not only to the police but to the Housing association as well. going on in Spelthorne at the moment . The most reports that we receive are about anti social behaviour. Most people do not even see this as a crime. However, continued anti social behaviour can create many tensions in communities and make people desperate to move homes, unable to live their daily lives as well as anxious and mentally unwell. It is important that you report to us continued anti-social behaviour. This will ensure we have a good picture of where to target our patrols with our PCSO’s. Currently we are seeing a lot of antisocial behaviour in the Walled Garden where youths are congregating and creating a disturbance and abusing Council Colleagues when they are trying to lock up the gardens. If we receive reports from our council workers about public order offences or assaults we will ensure these are investigated and persons are brought to justice. It is not acceptable to abuse the staff in these areas. If you are in a Housing association property in the local area and are experiencing anti-social behaviour you should report this not only to the police but to the Housing association as well. Spelthorne at the moment . The most reports that we receive are about anti social behaviour. Most people do not even see this as a crime. However, continued anti social behaviour can create many tensions in communities and make people desperate to move homes, unable to live their daily lives as well as anxious and mentally unwell. It is important that you report to us continued anti-social behaviour. This will ensure we have a good picture of where to target our patrols with our PCSO’s. Currently we are seeing a lot of antisocial behaviour in the Walled Garden where youths are congregating and creating a disturbance and abusing Council Colleagues when they are trying to lock up the gardens. If we receive reports from our council workers about public order offences or assaults we will ensure these are investigated and persons are brought to justice. It is not acceptable to abuse the staff in these areas. If you are in a Housing association property in the local area and are experiencing anti-social behaviour you should report this not only to the police but to the Housing association as well. partners including Housing Council and shops to lead some problem solving work, focused on the underpass and Skate park. The schools are also contributing to the local conversation about the ongoing matters and we are also looking to see if there is any interest in the formation of a residents association. We work closely with neighbourhood Watch who have been growing in numbers during the past year and we can assist anyone who would like to get involved by signposting you to your local coordinator. We are still seeing a lot of SCAMs being reported. If it is too good to be true then it is probably not is my first advice. Do not believe anyone who cold calls you! Always ask for a head office number and there name and details to verify them and the company and if in doubt do not engage. Do not give away your personal information easily. The other scam involving gift vouchers is where the scammer calls pretending to be the HMRC and asks for payments in vouchers. This would never happen. Please do not ever pay a bill or person in vouchers over the telephone. If they want payment let them send it to you in writing where you can verify it. Take care and stay safe partners including Housing Council and shops to lead some problem solving work, focused on the underpass and Skate park. The schools are also contributing to the local conversation about the ongoing matters and we are also looking to see if there is any interest in the formation of a residents association. We work closely with neighbourhood Watch who have been growing in numbers during the past year and we can assist anyone who would like to get involved by signposting you to your local coordinator. We are still seeing a lot of SCAMs being reported. If it is too good to be true then it is probably not is my first advice. Do not believe anyone who cold calls you! Always ask for a head office number and there name and details to verify them and the company and if in doubt do not engage. Do not give away your personal information easily. The other scam involving gift vouchers is where the scammer calls pretending to be the HMRC and asks for payments in vouchers. This would never happen. Please do not ever pay a bill or person in vouchers over the telephone. If they want payment let them send it to you in writing where you can verify it. Take care and stay safe shops to lead some problem solving work, focused on the underpass and Skate park. The schools are also contributing to the local conversation about the ongoing matters and we are also looking to see if there is any interest in the formation of a residents association. We work closely with neighbourhood Watch who have been growing in numbers during the past year and we can assist anyone who would like to get involved by signposting you to your local coordinator. We are still seeing a lot of SCAMs being reported. If it is too good to be true then it is probably not is my first advice. Do not believe anyone who cold calls you! Always ask for a head office number and there name and details to verify them and the company and if in doubt do not engage. Do not give away your personal information easily. The other scam involving gift vouchers is where the scammer calls pretending to be the HMRC and asks for payments in vouchers. This would never happen. Please do not ever pay a bill or person in vouchers over the telephone. If they want payment let them send it to you in writing where you can verify it. Take care and stay safe

There is a lot going on in Spelthorne at the moment . The most reports that we receive are about anti social behaviour. Inspector CiliaInspector CiliaInspector Cilia Most people do not even see this as a crime. HowInspector Cilia ever, continued anti social behaviour can create many tensions in communities and make people desperate to move homes, unable to live their daily lives as well as anxious and mentally unwell. It is important that you report to us continued anti-social behaviour. This will ensure we have a good picture of where to target our patrols with our PCSO’s. Currently we are seeing a lot of anti social behaviour in the Walled Garden where youths are congregating and creating a disturbance and abusing Council Colleagues when they are trying to lock up the gardens. If we receive reports Maxine Cilia Spelthorne Borough Commander from our council workers about public order offences or assaults we will ensure these are investigated and persons are Maxine Cilia Spelthorne Borough Commander Maxine Cilia Spelthorne Borough Commander brought to justice. It is not acceptable to abuse the staff in these areas. If you are in a Housing association prop-

As if 1.5 million steps in 100 days is not enough of a challenge, local mum Jackie Newman (you may also know her from Platinum Roofing) decided she was going to go for broke. “I increased the challenge to 2 million steps and as of this minute I have done 1,185,752 steps so as long as I keep plodding along at this pace I should finish a few days before Easter Sunday” she says. The challenge for Jackie, as well as raising money for the Fragile X charity which is a condition that runs in her family, was also to lose weight and get fit. That in itself has been a great success “I have lost another 2lb in weight - hopefully once the warmer weather comes I'll lose the rest” says Jackie. Remembering that she suffers from a painful condition in her ankles too, this is an absolutely brilliant result all round. If you can help support her please do. Her page is https://www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/jackie-newman1. You can also follow her on Instagram where you can find her at @fragilexmum. Please donate what you can, every penny counts!

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Solution to March Quick Crossword Solution to March Quick Crossword Chartered Surveyor Building Surveys, Home Buyers Chartered Surveyor Reports and Valuations for all Building Surveys, Home Buyers non lending purposes Reports and Valuations for all 40 years local experience non lending purposes Nickcobbmrics@gmail.com 40 years local experience 07876208359 Nickcobbmrics@gmail.com

By Andrew Peters

As highlighted in many national newspaper articles over the past 12 months, Spelthorne Council has been in the vanguard of a phalanx of local authorities borrowing to invest in property. The evidence of this strategy is plain to see with our own eyes in the form of the re-development of the Benwell House site at the top of Green Street. The new leadership, concerned there was a lack of member involvement in the Council’s own development projects, instigated a scrutiny committee review which has just published its report. This report used the development of Benwell House (temporarily named Ceaser Court) as a prime example of all that was wrong with the previous leaderships approach to investments. The report contains some stinging criticism of the former political leadership and council officials and is highly critical of the way Ceaser Court Phase 1 was both costed and built. The report highlights the almost total lack of any financial control, audit trail or member/ public consultation. EXACTLY what previous articles in Sunbury Matters about this awful development alleged, has now been found to be true. The report confirms: The purchase of Benwell House in Sunbury was approved in July 2017. The original cabinet paper, as well as approving the purchase, provided for the development a budget of £13,3M for the conversion of the office building to 41 flats and 14 other units. This was revised by a cabinet paper in September 2017 to a total of 69 flats in 2 blocks with a budget of £13.8M. In 2019 a further cabinet paper was submitted for a £18.9M spend for the current plan for almost 100 flats in 2 tall blocks. The report is highly critical of the way the funding and number of flats ballooned, saying:

There is no audit trail of how changes to the design were authorised

Plans that increased the costs were formulated and implemented without formal approval of changes

There is no audit trail of why money allocated for building all developments has instead all been spent on an enlarged Phase 1

There was no financial appraisal for the whole development

Public consultation only took place on Phase 2 with no alternatives offered In summary this development has proceeded with minimal member or public involvement and council officers were reluctant to identify who had made decisions. Incredibly there appears to have been no expectation at the time that any formal record of decisions should be retained. This reluctance on the part of council officials is worrying. Despite the leadership changing and an apparent political will to review the current policies we perceive huge organisational inertia within Spelthorne Council to any change of direction, not least from senior council officials and the many contractors employed to push these schemes through. As an example, the members of the Development and Investment Group (the council officials who operationally oversee the investments) initially refused access to their minutes by the scrutiny working group and only relented after the direct intervention of the new leader. As local residents we call on the new council leadership to:

Put in place immediately the programme board, training and procedures as described in the scrutiny committee report to ensure proper and robust oversight and direction of council officials

Set out a clear process for reviewing the proposed phase 2 of the Benwell House/Ceasar

Court development as agreed at the Council meeting on 21st January, and detail what opportunity there will be for meaningful public involvement

Only this way can the Council remedy their serious faults in the redevelopment of Benwell House and assuage the very high level of concern and opposition amongst residents in Lower Sunbury

Zandra Ceaser does not want name used